


The One Where Archie Defeats His Demons

by Legendawson



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie Andrews Needs a Hug, Autistic Archie Andrews, Bisexual Chuck Clayton, Bisexual Reggie Mantle, Bisexual Veronica Lodge, F/M, M/M, Multi, Pansexual Archie Andrews, Past statutory rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 17:12:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15845730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendawson/pseuds/Legendawson
Summary: Archie Andrews takes down his statutory rapist Grundy, and gets justice for Jason Blossom.





	The One Where Archie Defeats His Demons

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry the poem is so bad! I didn’t know how else to start this! Also the barchie part is for Megan and Megan only. Btw also pretend Chuck gets his redemption arc in season 1

One should always beware  
of who they spend time with.  
People can appear to be  
supportive and caring  
while hiding their manipulative personalities with a sweet smile.  
People often wear sheep’s clothing  
to hide their predatory nature.  
But that sheep’s clothing  
will always come off  
to reveal a person’s true colors.  
But sometimes that reveal  
comes a little bit too late.  
Sometimes their true nature  
is hidden so deep  
behind their manipulative mask  
that it takes years to truly see them  
for the monster they really are.  
Perhaps we should have been taught this. Perhaps it could’ve saved me.  
Perhaps it could’ve saved you.  
Perhaps it could’ve saved us  
  
-Archibald Andrews

  
I didn’t often write poems—well, at least not anymore—but I’d had no other choice. The only person I could talk to about this, that would truly understand, was dead. I tried to prevent myself from thinking about it. I thought if I wrote it down, it would stop nagging at me. It didn’t work.

A few weeks ago, Betty offhandedly mentioned that the famously dead redhead had also taken private music lessons from Ms. Grundy. As I felt a lump form in my throat, I ran off, making the excuse that I had to get to class.  
Private music lessons. I couldn’t prevent himself from thinking back to my own private music lessons with Ms. Grundy. I knew what that meant, but I couldn’t even form the words in my head, couldn’t possibly believe this was true. I was just being stupid, right? A lot of people take private music lessons from Ms. Grundy...but none of them were redhead football players...just like me. None of them were murdered. I look just like Jason, everyone thought so, even the Blossom family. I fought to hold back puke.

The night after I’d found that out, I couldn’t sleep. How could I? What if Jason was—I couldn’t even complete the thought. I’d only just begun the process of healing from what Ms Grundy did to me, was finally very slowly realizing that what happened wasn’t my fault—yet I often still blamed myself. But now this was dropped upon me as I’m still healing, and I didn’t know how I could possibly deal with the fact that this had happened to another one of my peers—and now said peer was dead. How many other kids had she done this to? I felt like I was going to puke at that observation, so I ran to the bathroom. I didn’t puke, but I stayed sitting on the ground just in case. And then a follow up to my last question presented itself: how many other kids will she do this to now that I’d fought to keep her out of jail and to keep her free? How many kids would she hurt because of me? This time, I did puke. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump, but it was only my dad, who quickly took his hand off of my shoulder after seeing my reaction.  
“Are you alright, son?” He asked.  
I could tell that he sensed I didn’t puke from being actually sick—my father’s intuition was never wrong—but nevertheless he still reached out to feel my forehead to see if I had a fever. He took his hand away and held out his hand to help me off the ground.  
Once I was standing, I clenched my fists together as I tried to push down the tears i could feel coming. I just wanted to tell my dad that I was fine, but I was worried if I attempted to speak, a sob would slip out.  
“Dad I…” I started, but then the tears I’d fought to hold back came streaming down my face and I knew I could no longer say that I was okay.  
My dad pulled me into a hug and hummed my favorite song to me. Although it didn’t stop the crying, it slowed it down.  
When the crying finally stopped, my dad let go of me, and instead of nagging me to tell him what was wrong, he tried to put on a brave smile for my sake and asked “How about we go downstairs and watch a movie?”  
Grateful that my dad didn’t push me to talk about the turmoil going through my head, I answered “Good idea. Thank you, dad.”  
“No problem. But first you have to eat something, or else you’ll feel worse than you already do.” He insisted.  
For a few minutes, I felt okay, my dad’s love and the understanding he showed me took the edge off all the terrifying things going through my head. Although I was a bit naive at times, I was not so naive that I believed things would now feel okay. They wouldn’t. I knew that. But I decided to cherish the small good moments I had.  
Having decided on that, I started running and yelling “I’ll race you downstairs!” My dad’s overjoyed laugh warmed my heart a sliver more.

I wanted to know the truth—no, needed to know the truth. Sure, I’d gained the information that Jason was getting private music lessons from Ms. Grundy, and it seemed pretty obvious that Jason was also a victim of Ms.Grundy, but I didn’t want to believe it. Although now I’ve somewhat accepted that Ms. Grundy didn’t actually love me and that she was manipulating me, I still didn’t want to believe she was so evil that she’d go as far as to kill Jason. I didn’t even want to think about the possibility, as much as I wished I didn’t, I still cared for Ms.Grundy—I knew it was ridiculous, she statutory raped me for god's sake and—wow, that was the first time I’ve ever called it that, I’d always blamed myself, but maybe my dad was right, maybe it wasn’t my fault.  
Then I decided for the sake of getting justice for Jason Blossom, I had to try to control my inner turmoil, no matter how much I felt connected to what happened.

The next night I had a football game and was planning on doing some investigating after. When I thought all my teammates were out of the locker room, I stood by Jason’s old locker, and ran my fingers over Jason’s name above the locker. My heart filled with grief. Grief for a boy I barely knew, for a boy I admired, for a boy that was so similar to me, perhaps a bit too similar…  
Lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed anyone enter the locker room, and jumped when I noticed Reggie was standing next to me. Before I could embarrassedly rip my hand off Jason’s name, Reggie did something I’d not been expecting, he put his hand over mine that was covering the name plate. My eyes flew from staring at said name plate and locked eyes with Reggie, and my frown switched into a bittersweet half smile.  
“I miss him” Reggie whispered so quietly I thought I’d imagined it.  
I paused before stuttering out “I…..”  
I trailed off, feeling idiotic for almost saying it out loud, but when Reggie looked at me encouragingly, I decided to do say it anyway.  
“I know it sounds stupid and it won’t make any sense to you but…I feel connected to him…” I uttered out.  
Reggie cocked an eyebrow “Connected?”  
“Him and I…” I started.  
“Oh! Were you and Jason hooking up?” Reggie exclaimed.  
“No! I wish that was why” I blurted, and then realized how that must’ve sounded.  
“Uh, by that I mean I’d rather be connected to him for that than the actual reason” I explained.  
Reggie scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion, and then opened his mouth to question me further, but when his eyes met mine, he snapped his mouth shut and his face softened “I don’t know what’s up with you, but you’re a loyal badass, Andrews, you’ll live.”  
Suddenly feeling warm and fuzzy inside, my mouth twitched into a smile “Thank you, Reg.”

  
Later that night, I stood outside of Ms. Grundy’s retro beetle, pacing around nervously. What if I didn’t find anything? What if I did? I didn’t know if I could handle either. Before I could lose my courage, I quickly picked the lock in Nancy-Drew-Betty-Cooper-Style, and slid into the front seat. As I subconsciously bounced my leg up and down, I started searching the car as hastily as I could, thinking of what Ms. Grundy would try if she found me in her car made me shiver. When I slid into the passenger seat to search the glove box, I found a locked tin box. I picked the lock with a guitar pick I had on me and found an ID. An ID with Ms. Grundy's picture on it with the name ‘Jennifer Gibson’ on it. Was it a fake ID? Or was this her real ID and was her real name Jennifer Gibson? The idea that Ms. Grundy possibly wasn’t even who she claimed to be made me feel sick. I set the ID back into the tin box, only to find it also held a gun. My breath sped up and the tin box was shaking in my hands. After years of being forced into watching law and order with Jughead, I knew not to take the gun out. So I quickly slammed the box shut and shoved it back into the glove box and slipped out of the car as fast as I could. I knew in that moment I had to talk to my dad about this, he’d know what to do.  
I decided to stop at Pop’s first, I hadn’t stopped shaking yet and I didn’t want my dad to worry. When I entered, Pop was already smiling and greeting me.  
“Hey, Archie. How are you doing, son?” Pop asked.  
I tried to steady my voice before I spoke, not wanting to worry Pop.  
“I-I’m doing alright. H-how are you?” I asked.  
“Are you sure you’re alright, son? You’re shaking” He said.  
“Y-yeah, my stomach just h-hurts a little” I stuttered out. I felt bad for making Pop worry about me.  
I thanked Pop for his concern and quickly ordered a burger and went to sit down. While I was waiting I stared out the window. I wished I could just forget everything for a few minutes. Maybe I’d be haunted by this for the rest of my life. No, I had to fight it, show up and beat fear at its own damn game. I wouldn’t let this weigh down on me forever, I’d bring Ms. Grundy to justice, I had to, I owe it to Jason, I owe it to myself, and I owe it to every other teen in this town. I was snapped out of my thoughts by a boy I only slightly knew slipping into the other side of my booth. It was Chuck Clayton with a milkshake. He slid the milkshake towards me. Chuck smiled at the confused look on my face.  
“I’m trying to be a better person and you look upset, so I thought you could use some comfort food” He said.  
“That’s really nice of you, Chuck, thank you, but I can’t accept this, you shouldn’t spend your money on me” I objected.  
“Come on, Andrews, you know you want it” He persisted.  
“Okay, but only if you share it with me” I said with a slight blush.  
Chuck smiled “Okay, deal.”  
I excitedly hopped out of my seat to go grab an extra straw for Chuck.  
I got back to the table to see my food had came. I shoved my plate of fries towards Chuck.  
“Here, I’ll share my food with you” I offered.  
“Thanks, Andrews” He said.  
I slid my hand, which wouldn’t stop shaking, to gently grab Chuck’s hand. My other hand was anxiously flicking my fidget spinner as fast as it would go.  
“Thank you, Chuck. I’ve had a hard night, but your kindness has helped me forget about my problems” I whispered, my heart beat speeding up.  
“No problem. You’re a good guy, and I like you, Andrews” He confessed.  
“I feel the same about you” I blushed.

Before I left Pop’s, I thanked Chuck again, gave him my phone number, and then ordered two shakes to go.  
On my way home, I stopped at Cheryl’s house. Mrs. Blossom, probably because I look so much like Jason, has always liked me so she let me in right away.  
I knocked on Cheryl’s door “Hey, it’s Archie.”  
The door swung open to reveal Cheryl in a red nightie and a pink silk robe.  
“Archie, what do you want?” She asked demandingly.  
“Uh, I brought you a shake from Pop’s” I answered.  
“Why?” She questioned, grabbing the shake from my hand.  
“Well, I um, wanted to tell you that I’m glad we’re friends and I’m happy to be here for you whenever you need me” I explained.  
“And why did you randomly feel the need to tell me this?” She asked.  
“I feel like you need a friend now more than ever, and I care about you” I replied.  
“Oh. Well, thank you, Archiekins!” She exclaimed, pulling me into a quick hug.  
I smiled “Goodnight, Cheryl.”  
She smiled back “Goodnight, Archie.”

When I got home, my dad was sitting in the living room with Vegas and watching tv.  
“Hi dad. I got you a shake from Pop’s” I greeted, handing him the shake.  
“Thank you, son” he said.  
I sat down next to him, trying to stop shaking. I was nervous because of what I was about to tell him.  
“D-dad… I need t-to tell you s-something” I stuttered.  
He looked worried “What is it, son?”  
I hadn’t gone non verbal since I was 7, apart from when my parents got divorced, until today. I told my dad everything, in american sign language, which I’d learned when I was a toddler so I could communicate when I went non verbal.  
My dad stayed silent, only nodding for me to continue and putting his hand on my neck to comfort me. I tried to keep my tears back, but I couldn’t. As he tears fell out of my eyes, my dad pulled me into a hug.

I woke up the next morning on the couch with a pillow and a blanket draped over me. As I sat up, I saw my dad drinking coffee and watching me.  
“Good morning, son” he said softly.  
I yawned “Morning, dad.”  
“You’re growing up so fast, it feels just like yesterday that I could pick you up and carry you to your bed” he reflected.  
I smiled, remembering all the times I’d fallen asleep in the car as a kid. I frowned, remembering the events of last night. Thing were so much easier back then.  
I swallowed nervously “We have to call the police, don’t we?”  
My dad sighed and put his face in his hands. I wondered what he was thinking. I felt bad for putting my dad through this kind of stress. Then I wished I’d left my dad out of all of this and just went to the police myself.  
My dad must’ve sensed how I was feeling because he got up and sat next to me.  
“I am so proud of you for telling me everything, I’m sure that wasn’t easy and it was very brave thing to do” he complimented me.  
Out of nowhere, I pulled my dad into a huge hug.  
“I love you, dad” I said shakily.  
“I love you too, son” he cooed.  
We just hugged silently for a few minutes before we had to talk about what happened that changed everything.  
When I pulled away, I wrapped myself up tighter in my blanket, as if it could protect me from everything I was afraid of, much like when I was a child, except now I wasn’t just scared of giant monsters under my bed or the boogey man, what I was scared of now was much more severe and much more real.  
“Do we have to call the police now?” I asked again, already knowing what the right thing to do was.  
“Well, what are you thinking? Are you ready to talk about this openly? Are you okay with people knowing what happened to you?” he questioned.  
“No, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready” I admitted, my voice shaking with anxiousness.  
I took a deep breath, and then continued. “But, yes, I have to tell the police. If not for me, if not so Grundy gets what she deserves, then for Jason, and for all the other teenagers who she could possibly harm” I explained.  
My dad teared up “Son, you’re so selfless, you are a hero. I have never been more proud.”  
I’m not selfless like he said. I’m not the hero of any story. But I felt my mouth twitch into a smile at the fact that my dad thought so wonderful things about me.  
“I just need one more normal day, where I can pretend this never happened, one more day before everyone sees me as the “lucky guy” who got to have sex with the hot teacher. I never appreciated the normalcy of everyday life, but now that it’s being taken from me, I would do anything to keep it” I explained. Then, I felt selfish for even asking for a day.  
“Of course, son. Whatever you need, okay? If you need some time off from school, just say so, if you need comfort food, just tell me and I’ll pick you up whatever” he insisted.  
I hugged him again “Thank you.”

  
When I walked out of my house, I knew I had to go and tell Cheryl, she deserved to know, even before the police. I took a deep breath and then got on my bike to ride over to her house.  
When I got there, Cheryl was the one to answer the door. I was surprised, usually it was her parents at the door, looking irritated and then pleasantly surprised to see me.  
Cheryl opened the door wider so I could come in.  
“What brings you here so early on a Sunday?”  
“I… uh… I have to tell you something important… I care about you so… I thought I’d tell you before I told the police” I started, as I entered her house.  
“The police?” Cheryl questioned.  
“I….I’m pretty sure Miss Grundy killed Jason. I’m so sorry, Cheryl” I explained.  
Cheryl looked up at me and I couldn’t tell what emotion her eyes held.  
“Are you okay?” I asked.  
“How long did you know?” Cheryl queried quietly.  
“I guess I’ve suspected for about a week, but I never had any actual evidence until now” I answered.  
“How dare you keep silent about this!” Cheryl yelled, surprising me.  
“I had a gut feeling but no real reason to accuse her until now” I defended myself.  
“How did you have a gut feeling without any evidence?” Cheryl asked.  
“Jason took music lessons with Ms. Grundy” I explained.  
“So? Who cares!” Cheryl exclaimed.  
I took a deep breath. I knew I had to tell her.  
“I had music lessons with Miss Grundy. And… well… they were far from just music lessons” I hinted.  
“Oh…oh god, Archie, I’m sorry I exploded on you… and I’m sorry that happened” She apologized softly.  
“It’s okay… I’m pretty sure that the same happened to Jason… and Cheryl, I found a gun in her car… I’m scared to come forward, but I have to, for Jason, for you, and for every single teen out there” I explained.  
Cheryl surprised me with a hug. I smiled, I was glad she understood.

When I left Cheryl’s, I thought about what I wanted to do with my last day of freedom. See Reggie. See Veronica. I blushed, and then decided to go to see Veronica.  
When I arrived at the Lodges, I was greeted by Veronica pulling me into a big bear hug.  
“Archiekins!” She exclaimed.  
It was expected that we’d get together. Not that I didn’t want that, but I also wanted to explore my sexuality… but either way, I knew I could count on her to be by my side tomorrow.  
I hugged her back “Ronnie!”  
“What brings you here, hun?” She asked.  
“I wanted to spend some time with my favorite girl” I answered.  
Veronica kissed me on the cheek “You know just what to say to charm a girl.”  
I laughed “And anyone.”  
“Hm?” She mumbled.  
“Nothing” I said, kissing the side of her head.  
“I can charm anyone too, ya know, even girls” She bragged.  
I laughed “I believe you.”  
We settled down on the couch to watch a movie together when I decided to say something about everything that was happening.  
“Ronnie, tomorrow is a big day for me, emotionally hard… will you stand by my side? I… can’t do this alone” I admitted.  
“What’s happening tomorrow, sweetie?” She asked.  
“I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t really think I’m supposed to until I tell the police… but… I wanna make sure I have you here with me” I explained.  
“Okay. Whatever you need, I’m here” She promised.  
“Thank you” I said, feeling blessed to have her in my life.

I went to visit Reggie next. His dad let me in and I ran up to his room. I knocked on his door.  
“Reg, it’s Archie, your dad let me in” I greeted through the door.  
Reggie opened the door, and smiled “Hey, Andrews.”  
I walked into his room and plumped down on his bed like I’d done many times before.  
“What’s wrong? Who’s ass do I have to kick?” He asked.  
I laughed “I just… have something hard I have to deal with tomorrow and I don’t know how to get through it.”  
“It has to do with Jason, doesn’t it, how you two are connected?” He asked.  
I nodded “Something like that.”  
“Well…Just know, I’m here for you” he said, grabbing my hand in his, squeezing it, and then refusing to make eye contact with me.  
“T-Thank you” I stuttered, nervous from the small hand hold.

I went home instead of seeing Jughead or Betty. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I was just exhausted from hinting at everything. I didn’t think I could handle walking around the truth another time today.  
I got home to see my dad laughing with Fp, so I just went upstairs so I wouldn’t bother them. I didn’t know they’d become friends again after their past.  
I saw Betty through my window. She looked sad. So I decided to text her.

 **archiekins:** Hey, are you okay?

 **betts:** I guess. What about you? You don’t look too happy yourself

 **archiekins:** I guess I’m not doing that well. Something happened. I think I know what happened to Jason Blossom.

 **betts:** What?!

 **archiekins:** I’m sorry

 **betts:** don’t apologize! I’m just worried and shocked!

 **archiekins:** sorry to worry you

 **betts:** it’s okay! I probably should be worried!

 **archiekins:** I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.

 **betts:** text me if you need me!! love you!

  
**archiekins:** thank you! love you too!

 

I woke up in the morning and nervously treaded my way downstairs.  
“Good morning, dad” I greeted, only to see that my dad was not alone, but with Fp. He spent the night?  
“Oh…Good morning to you too, Mr. Jones” I added.  
My dad turned to Fp and whispered something to him, to which Fp nodded, hugged my dad, grabbed his things, and then headed for the door.  
“I’m scared” I admitted.  
“I’m sorry, son. Do you need more time?” My dad asked.  
I shook my head “The longer I put this off, the harder it will be. I had my day to get my business together… I’m as ready as I’ll ever be” I answered.  
“You can do this son, I believe in you.” He said, putting his hand on my neck.  
I smiled lightly “Thank you.”

When I got to the police station, I got so much more nervous than I’d been before.  
My dad asked to speak to Sherif Keller. At least I was going to be talking to someone I knew and not a total stranger. When I got in the interrogation room, I felt almost felt like a criminal myself. I’d kept this a secret for far too long, I was at fault myself. When Sherif Keller came into the room and sat down, I started speed talking about everything that happened. I even told them about how I’d broken into Grundy’s car, which I immediately regretted. I couldn’t help it, the truth was flying out of me and I couldn’t lie about any of it, even if that meant I got in trouble.  
“Well… Since you helped us so much I’m going to give you a warning about the breaking into her car” Sherif Keller finally spoke.  
“Thank you, Tom” My father said gratefully.  
“Thank you, sir” I said politely.  
Sherif Keller went on to say they’d try to get a warrant for Grundy's car, thanked us, and then told us we were free to go.  
When we left the police station, my dad spoke up.  
“That was so brave of you. Do you want to skip school today?” He asked.  
“No… I’d rather just go to school while things are still normal” I answered.  
My dad nodded and headed in the direction of the school.

When I arrived at school, I felt nervous. What if I saw Grundy today? What if she knew I’d broken into her car? Thinking of that made me shiver.  
I went to algebra and tried to focus. But how could I? Everything felt like it was piling up. Also, I didn’t understand anything we were being taught. I felt like I was gonna cry. That’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Chuck, who was sitting behind me.  
“Are you okay?” He asked.  
“I don’t understand this” I replied.  
Chuck smiled “Oh, well I can help with that.”  
Chuck then proceeded to explain how to do the math better than the teacher did. I even started to understand it.  
“You are my saving grace, Chuck Clayton” I praised.  
“No problem, glad I could help” He said.  
When I got out of class, Chuck walked with me to my next class. That’s when I saw it. The police at Grundy’s classroom door. Had they already gotten a warrant? Or were they just arresting her for sleeping with a student? Then, a policeman was walking with a handcuffed Grundy down the hall. I followed. Something in me felt sad that she was being taken away. I followed them all the way outside. My eyes watered. I fought to hold back tears. I wouldn’t cry. This was the right thing and I knew it. Suddenly I felt Chuck put his hand in mine and smile bittersweetly at me. Instead of questioning me, Chuck just silently held my hand while they took Grundy away. When the cop cars took off, I turned around and walked back inside hand in hand with Chuck, and other students who were watching everything go down came back inside too.  
“I wonder what she did” Chuck wondered aloud.  
“She killed Jason Blossom” I answered.  
“Really?” Chuck asked.  
“And I slept with her” I let guiltily pore out of my mouth.  
“Oh” Chuck uttered, but didn’t let go of my hand.  
“My dad says it’s not my fault but…I don’t know about that” I went on.  
“He’s right. It’s not your fault” Chuck agreed.  
I smiled lightly “Thank you.”

“Archiekins!” Veronica exclaimed when she saw me at lunch and pulled me into a hug.  
“I’m so sorry that this happened to you!” She exclaimed.  
How had she known? Had someone heard me tell Chuck?  
“How did you know?” I asked.  
“Don’t you know? Sherif Keller issued a statement about Jason’s killer” She explained.  
I suddenly felt angry. How dare Sherif Keller issue a statement that included my name without even warning me? I felt sick. Now everything was going to change. At least most people seemed to feel bad for me instead of seeing me as a lucky guy. But I didn’t want to go through that either.  
“I’m going to go have lunch with my dad” I suddenly said, getting up.  
“Talk to you later!” She waved.

My dad’s construction company was in walking distance so I started walking there.  
When I arrived, my dad was eating a burger from Pops’.  
“Hi, son” He greeted when he saw me.  
“I hoped you’d stop by, I got you a burger just in case you did” He continued, handing me the other burger.  
“Thank you” I said gratefully.  
And then I started telling my dad everything that happened, from Grundy being taken away to Veronica telling me that Sherif Keller had issued a statement including my name.  
“I just can’t believe he would tell the whole world about what happened without even warning me!” I exclaimed.  
“I’m so sorry, son. We can go have a word with him if you want?” He suggested  
I sighed “It doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone knows.”  
“I’m sorry that people are going to be cruel to you, but you did the right thing, take some pride in that” He reassured.  
“You’re right. I did something good for once, I shouldn’t let what other people say bother me” I agreed, but knew that it wasn’t true. I’d still care what others thought. I’d still let it bother me.

That night, after school, something told me that I needed to go see Grundy.  
“Dad?” I asked aloud as I came down the stairs.  
My dad walked out of the kitchen.  
“Hello, son. What do you need?” He asked.  
“Can you bring me to the police station? I…I think I need to see Ms. Grundy… for closure” I explained.  
“If you think that’s what you need, of course I’ll bring you” He allowed.  
When I got to the police station, I felt nervous all over again.  
“Do you want me to come in with you?” My dad asked.  
“No, I think I need to do this alone” I decided. “But, thank you.”  
I walked inside and asked to see Geraldine Grundy. They said that I couldn’t. Then I asked if I could speak to Sherif Keller.  
“He’s busy” they said.  
“Just tell him it’s Archie Andrews. He’ll come” I assured.  
They agreed and then 5 minutes later they were leading me to Sherif Keller’s office.  
“Hello, Archie. What brings you here again?” Sherif Keller asked.  
“I’m here to see Ms. Grundy. I need closure, and you’re going to give it to me” I demanded.  
“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” He questioned.  
“You disclosed my own personal information in a statement without my permission. You owe me!” I exclaimed  
“I don’t understand why you’d want to see her anyway after what she did to you” He said incredulously.  
“Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve never been in my shoes” I explained.  
“Alright. You can see her” He finally gave in.  
He led me to the cell that Grundy was in.  
He moved to unlock the cell but I stopped him.  
“Don’t. I won’t be long” I interjected.  
Sherif Keller shrugged and then walked away leaving me alone with the woman that ruined me. That ruined Jason.  
“Well, well, well. Look at the little rat that came to visit” She singsonged.  
“I may be a rat but at least I’m not snake” I barked.  
“Good one” She laughed.  
“I’m not here for you or any of your shit. I’m here for me, for Jason” I explained.  
“Jason is dead you dumbass” She sneered.  
“You’re the dumbass if you don’t understand what I meant by that” I shot back.  
“You really should’ve thought things through before turning me in. Everyone is going to think you’re the luckiest boy alive and feel bad for me. No one will believe I killed Jason. I’m going to be bailed out of here soon, and when I do, I’m coming for you” She threatened.  
“Guess what? You bring no fear over me anymore. You can’t control me anymore. Give me your worst, Geraldine, we’ll see who comes out on top” I replied in a calculated calm voice.

The next week was when everything got a little more real. The cops got a warrant for Grundy’s car and found the ID and the gun. She no longer had the option to be bailed out of jail, so I didn’t have to deal with her. That week I also started therapy. I talked about everything, from struggling in school to what Grundy did to me. It actually helped a lot. Things were looking up for me. And then I was asked to testify against Grundy I’m court. I agreed, but the thought of it made me anxious.  
When Grundy's trial did come, I was the main witness. That fact that her fate hung primarily in my hands scared me, but my therapist helped me through it. I ended up doing great and my testimony helped put Grundy away for good. Everything was coming together, I had my friends to protect me from gossip at school, and my dad to protect me from the more serious things.  
Things seemed to be getting better for our little town. Little did I know of the storm called Hiram Lodge that was on its way to Riverdale.

**Author's Note:**

> Funny part I excluded for the sake of keeping a serious tone:  
> I pulled out my phone and texted Veronica  
> archiekins: what does a pregnancy test look like?  
> ronnie: it’s like a thin piece of plastic with a thing on the end of it.  
> ronnie: who’s pregnant?!!  
> “Okay so this is definitely a gun”


End file.
